"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Saturday, July 09, 2011

New York City Parents Organize to Save Education

Ht to Monty Neill:

The Grassroots Education Movement is in the early stages of forming city-wide campaign against the high stakes use of standardized testing in our schools. We would love for you to be a part of creating and strengthening this campaign. Please join us at our first...

Newly inspired individuals and seasoned activists are all encouraged to
attend. Parents, teachers, students, and other concerned citizens are
welcome. If you are a member of a group that does education-related work,
please consider sending at least a representative to become active with this
campaign. We are hoping to gather as wide-ranging a committee of concerned
folks as possible in order to build an effective campaign for the coming
school year.

Below is a letter from a New York City parent who explains passionately why
fighting against the excessive and high stakes use of standardized testing
in our schools is an absolute necessity at this juncture.

Hope to see you there on the 18th.

Sincerely,
The Grassroots Education Movement

Dear Parents, Education Advocates, Teachers and Concerned Friends,

As we are coming off what appears to be an attack on our public schools
through the threat of losing 6,000 teachers to budgetary layoffs, we are
left with 4,100 teaching positions saved, but no positions replaced due to
attrition. It is clear that as our children's libraries and art and music
programs are being compromised, millions of dollars are being diverted into
increased testing and data collecting, neither of which is actually serving
to better educate our children. The most positive outcome of this
experience has been the mobilization of parents and teachers and the
ignition of what can become an engaged parent/teacher movement for real
reform in our schools.

Many feel that our schools have become testing obsessed, forgetting to focus
on what is most important to children by giving students quality teachers,
small class sizes and a more hands-on experience. Instead, our policy
makers are taking money out of meaningful programs like the arts and
physical education in order to increase the funding of high-stakes testing
that inadequately tests both students and teachers, reduces the time spent
on actual teaching in the classroom, and adds undue stress to the total
school experience. Parents and children are bearing the negative effects of
these tests, and we see that our children's natural curiosity for learning
is being turned into lethargy and a general lack of interest in school. How
can our policy makers expect children to be engaged in their education when
they deplete what many believe is most essential to learning?

The research is clear: "Data from interviews reveals that teachers
experience negative emotions as a result of the publication of test scores
and determine to do what is necessary to avoid low scores. Teachers believe
that scores are used against them, despite the perceived invalidity of the
tests themselves. From classroom observations it was concluded that testing
programs substantially reduce the time available for instruction, narrow
curricular offerings and modes of instruction, and potentially reduce the
capacities of teachers to teach content and to use methods and materials
that are incompatible with standardized testing formats." 1

We find it disconcerting that those who have the most experience with our
children's education, teachers and parents, have been left out of the
decision-making process around what is needed to increase learning. Most
feel disempowered or disenfranchised, feeling as though their voice does not
matter and that their children's education is no longer in their hands. If
a parent gets involved through their PTA, SLT or in the classroom, they are
quickly discouraged by the bureaucracy that ensues on behalf of their
school, finding teachers and principals reluctant to address their
concerns.

If the tone of this letter resonates with you, you may be relieved to know
you are not alone in your experience. Hundreds of families are feeling
stranded and stressed by their experience with our public schools. Many
have turned to charter schools in the hope of finding a solution to this
situation. This experience often proves to be an even more limiting place
to express parental concerns or become intimately involved with a child's
education. We are seeing the trend of charter schools expanding while our
public schools are being compromised, both of which are becoming a sick
experiment affecting our children at the hands of private interests. Is
this what you envisioned your children's education to look like?

We feel there are alternative ways to assess children and teachers --
innovative, creative and meaningful ways that will serve our children's
needs and help guide the performance inside the classroom. Being "college
ready" does not have to mean being tested to death. We believe educating
the whole child is what prepares them for the world beyond school and adds
meaning to their life and our society. Narrowing their experiences through
teaching to the test flattens their learning and consequently the society
they will become a part of after school. We believe our schools can have
culturally rich, rigorous curricula that prepare our children for college
and the workforce without the external control of high-stakes testing. The
excessive focus on testing is hurting our kids and our schools, and we must
demand and put forth an alternate vision.

Over the summer, the Grassroots Education Movement would like to explore
other options and build parent power to oppose the forces that seem set on
pushing an agenda of high-stakes testing on our teachers and children. We
are planning a campaign around testing next year that will begin with
education about what high-stakes testing is and how it negatively affects
our children and schools. We will educate and organize around alternative
experiences. As well, we will explore the notion of opting-out of these
tests, which may be a giant first step in regaining the power that parents
can have in their children's education. We are encouraging the mobilization
of such an opt-out campaign that would be strategically crafted and targeted
to a few schools for one of the local or interim assessments. If you are
interested in becoming involved in this movement, please contact Janine Sopp
or Bill Linville to learn more at janinesopp@gmail.com or
bill.linville@gmail.com.

Our first major organizing meeting will be held on July 18 at the CUNY
graduate center at 5:00pm. We hope to involve as many organizations and
parents in this process as possible, knowing that the larger the movement,
the stronger the impact. These recent attacks on our public schools are
only the beginning. So a stronger parent/teacher force will be needed to
influence the next wave of intensity.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with you.
Janine Sopp
Public School Parent

1 Put to the Test: The Effects of External Testing on Teachers, Mary Lee
Smith, Professor